The Marauder's Story
by ChrysSelene
Summary: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were long past being friends. They were basically brothers, putting each other's lives in the others' hands without hesitation. They pull pranks and joke around, James spends his days bounding after Lily and after a certain discovery, they help Remus through transformations. The Marauders story from year 2-Voldy's death
1. Chapter 1

"When Remus gets back, I say we go hide some self-detonating fireworks in the Slytherin common room," James suggested, pretending to be reading his charms book while he sent small stars of light from the tip of his wand. Peter nodded eagerly from his plate of biscuits Sirius had smuggled in earlier that night. Sirius grinned slyly.

"Obviously. Where is Remus, anyway?" he asked.

It was only their second year at Hogwarts but it was already home to the boys. They'd been friends since that moment on the train when Remus had woken up to see James staring curiously at him. Remus had been terrified that there was another person in his cart and tried to make James understand that he wanted to be alone, but James was persistent. James followed him around until Remus finally persisted and let himself become friends. They'd met Sirius on the train. His sarcastic jokes nearly crossed the line at some points but he seemed ok. They didn't really understand until they noticed how scared he was after being sorted into Gryffindor. He'd sat with James and Remus because he didn't know anybody else at the crimson and gold table and James was tall enough that he could hide behind him to avoid the glares from the Slytherin table. They'd met Peter a day and half later. He'd been cornered outside the kitchen by a group of Slytherins. James, Sirius, and Remus had only happened to be passing by when it happened. James refused to stand by and let it happen, so he sarcastically approached the group and hexed the Slytherins. They kind of adopted Peter after that.

He told me he was headed out to get some fresh air, but I haven't seen him since breakfast," Peter said. Sirius and Peter noticed the worried mother hen look on James' face as he stood up.

"Let's go find him," James suggested, not really leaving room for shrugged and opted to follow, leaving Peter no choice but to do the same.

"Where are we going!" he yipped as he ran to keep up. James slowed down slightly and his face softened into a smile when Peter looked up at him.

"Well, Remus said he was getting some fresh air and fresh is air is generally outside, so I say we start there."

Sirius didn't seem phased by this at all. He smirked and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. But Peter looked nervous.

"But James, it's past curfew! If we get caught-,"

"Then we won't get caught, Petey. You can head back if you want, we'll meet with you when we get back?" James suggested, grasping his friend's shoulder. Peter shook his head quickly and stayed silent after that. Peter, having the best memory, knew each painting in the castle by name. Because of this, he was able to find secret entrances nearly everywhere, so when Filch walked by they always had someplace to hide.

Once they were far enough away from the castle to be out of earshot, they starting calling for Remus.

"Remus?" Peter said nervously every time he saw something move.

Sirius had more conventional ways of finding him. "I didn't do my paper on potions that's due tomorrow!" he yelled, knowing Remus would always make him so his homework.

"I need somebody to help me fold my socks!" James yelled, taking a similar route as Sirius. Despite this, it was actually Peter that found him.

"Uhh, James?" His voice quavered. He grabbed the nearest person, which happened to be Sirius.

"James," Sirius repeated, sounding equally uneased.

"What?" James asked, not paying them any mind

"James,"

"I said what!"

Sirius grabbed James' face and turned it towards the whomping willow, where a hunched back figure seemed not to notice them.

"Is that…" Peter couldn't find himself able to name the creature, but he didn't need to.

"Werewolf," Sirius finished for him.

James expression turned determined. As mentioned before, he was persistent. "Come on," he said, dragging the others further into the forest. Peter and Sirius both objected, but were silenced by James, "Remus is still out here, remember? He doesn't like being in the castle by himself unless he's in the library, and he _told_ Peter he was going out for some air. We've got to find him." James didn't hesitate to run into the forest, knowing full well that's where Remus prefered to take his nightly walks.

"Remus!"

"Remus?!"

The boys ran through the woods, calling and shouting and making a dangerous ruckus.

"I think we're attracting the werewolf," Peter whispered, leaning into the taller boys' sides. James draped an arm over Peter's shoulder.

"Don't worry Petey, I won't let anything happen."

Peter believed him.

"Where else would Remus be?" Sirius asked. The boys were huddled together, whether unspoken fear or cold they weren't sure.

"He walks up by the trail above the whomping willow," James suggested.

Peter hung back for a moment. "You mean the trail where we just saw a werewolf?"

James looked too worried to be concerned for his own safety. He ran off in the direction he hoped Remus would be. Sirius grasped Peter's shoulders. "Go back to the castle. If we're not back in thirty minutes, get McGonagall out to find us," he said. Peter nodded viciously. And ran back the way they'd come. Sirius bolted after James. "JAMES! Wait up!"

He caught up with James, who was hiding behind a tree. His breath was heavy.

"James, shh," Sirius whispered.

"BE QUIET, SIRIUS!" James yelled back. Sirius smacked him. The loud howl that followed seemed to be only feet away. Sirius grabbed ahold of James and nearly jumped out of his shoes. The werewolf jumped in front of them, approaching quickly.

"Protego totalum!" a squeaky voice yelled. The spell wasn't very effective but it distracted the wolf. It turned to face Peter, who was trembling in his boots and looking like he regretted the decision to come back.

"WHOO, Peter!" James cheered. Peter didn't bother smiling back. By the time the wolf had turned around, Sirius and James had gotten out their wands and into a fighting position.

"Hey big guy! Leave our friend alone!" Sirius yelled, gaining courage from James. The wolf looked between Sirius, James, and Peter, but seemed hesitant to attack. James stepped forward and re-performed Peter's spell, encasing the small boy in a thin white bubble of protection. The wolf turned to the spell caster. James took a nervous step backwards but his brave facade didn't fall. The wolf took a swipe at James, cutting the front of his robe before James stumbled backwards into Sirius.

"We gotta find Remus!" Sirius yelled, pulling James behind another tree. The spell around Peter was beginning to wear off so he ran to the other boys, who quickly pushed him behind them and away from the werewolf.

"Think he's back at the common room?" Sirius joked. James ignored him, squinting at the werewolf. He took a step closer, which caused the wolf to growl and throw another swipe. James ducked just in time and adjusted his glasses. His eyes went wide and he swallowed nervously.

"No, I think Remus is in big, _big_ , trouble." James took his friend's wrists and ran for the castle.

"What about Remus?!" Sirius yelled. James didn't stop running.

"THAT _IS_ REMUS!"

Sirius' eyes bugged out of his head. They made it back to the castle in one piece, leaving the howling werewolf at the forest's edge. They didn't stop running until they'd made it to the entrance of their common room.

Needless to say, they didn't get any sleep last night.

 _(Hey guys! I hope you like the story so far! Just to make sure things make sense, this is near the end of their 2nd year at Hogwarts. In the books, the Marauders became animagus when they were 15, but in this story I'm changing it to before then. Hope you enjoyed! :) )_


	2. Chapter 2

When Remus returned the next morning, he was surprised to see his friends already awake. Sirius sat up on the couch with a book in his hands and Peter sprawled out on his lap. James was at a desk next to them, furiously taking notes on something Remus knew not to be homework. It was a Saturday, so everybody else had already left. It was just them left in the Gryffindor tower.

"Uh, hi guys," Remus greeted. Sirius looked up so quickly Remus was surprised he didn't get whiplash, and James fell out of his chair.

"Remus!" Sirius said, both him and James jumping up. Peter woke up and yelped before falling off the couch. Remus slowly approached the group.

"What's wrong?" he asked, immediately assuming either they'd done something stupid while he was gone, or he'd done something wrong.

"What? Nothing! Nothing is wrong, obviously. Why would something be wrong? Nothing's wrong," Sirius insisted. Remus raised his eyebrows. James nudged Sirius without his gaze leaving not suspicious.

"Why… James why do you look like that?" he asked warily.

"What look? I don't look like anything. I look like James. I _am_ James," James said. Peter rolled his eyes at how obvious they were being.

"So…" Sirius started awkwardly. He was trying to act casual. He was failing. "So how was your walk last night?"

Remus's blood ran cold. His eyes skittered across the room, eventually finding the large tear in James' robe.

"Oh, Merlin…" And he took off.

The three remaining boys exchanged a confused glance. "Did he…?" Sirius trailed off.

Peter nodded awkwardly. "I think he did."

"Should we…?"

James nodded. "Yes, I think we should,"

They ran after him, yelling his name and other things to get him to stop. "Remus, wait!" They followed him down the moving staircases, James nearly falling all the way to the bottom floor when he tried to skip a case and it moved before he landed. They followed Remus all the way to the entrance of the castle.

"FOLD MY LAUNDRY, REMUS!" Sirius screamed, earning them some weird looks. People had gotten used to them for the most part, but it was still a weird sight.

That was the thing that finally got Remus to hesitate. He'd already made it to the doors when he stopped.

"What?" he asked, utterly confused.

"I told you to fold my laundry," Sirius explained, resting his hands on his knees and huffing to catch his breath.

"Which is why I'm asking, what?"

Siris shrugged and James nudged him to get him to talk.

"Well, it got you stop," Peter pointed out. Remis didn't answer for nearly a minute. James was counting.

"Why, why aren't you running away?" Remus quivered.

Sirius scoffed loudly. "Oh give it a rest, Lupin. You play chess with house elves and make biscuits in your free time. Forgive me for not screaming in terror," he joked. Remus stood a little taller.

"So, you're, you're not scared?" Remus asked. James confidently slung his arm over Remus' shoulders.

"Merlin, yeah I'm scared. Did you see the homework Minnie handed out? How could I be scared with that sitting on my shoulders?"

Peter nodded in agreement. Remus' lips pulled upward in a small smile. "I can help with your homework…"

Sirius rolled his eyes and turned to go back to their common room. "We weren't planning on giving you a choice!" he called over his shoulder.

"C'mon Moon-Moon!" Peter ran after Sirius.

"Moon-Moon?" Remus muttered. "That may be the worse nickname I've ever heard!"

James and Sirius laughed. When they reached the common room, James put a spell on the door so they'd know if somebody was coming. Remus chiding him for it.

They found themselves all piled onto the couches like they usually were after class. Remus sat on the end, like usual, and Sirius was next to him. Peter was on the other end of the couch and James sat comfortably between him and Sirius.

"You guys don't hate me? Even though I'm, well, I'm a monster…?"

Sirius shook his head and put his arms on the back of the couch. James kicked off his shoes.

"Look at my feet, Remus. My left foot is slightly bigger than the other, and my parents gotta make my shoes bigger after we buy em."

Sirius caught on to what he was doing immediately. "I'm annoying, plus my family is one of the worst ones around. Until I learned better, I was a complete jerk to people that really didn't deserve it," he said.

"I'm really short," Peter added. He didn't know why they were complaining but he thought it best to be a part of it.

"Yeah, so?" Remus shrugged.

"So, we've all got stuff that's not perfect about us. For all we know, my foot may be the reason Lily won't go out with me. You're not a monster, Remus. You don't have it in you," James jokingly pushed his shoulder.

"That slash in your robes says differently." Remus guiltily looked down and leaned away from the group. James looked down at his robes, then back up to Remus.

"This? Remus, you think that was you? Nah, we were trying to hide some stink bombs under the Slytherin table, but Snivellus caught us and chased us down the hall and we ran into Peeves. I ripped my robes because Sirius here fell on his face and I tripped over him when we got back to the common room," he excused. James could be an ok liar when he was sleep deprived and making it up on the spot. Remus looked a little more hopeful.

"Really?"

"Yeah, my face still hurts," Sirius added. Peter nodded.

Remus smiled again. "I can't believe you guys tried to put stink bombs under the Slytherin table on a Sunday. How would you _not_ get caught?"

James shrugged. "Well, that's why we need our brainiac!" He muffled Remus' hair. Remus was reassured by his friends' content looks. They didn't _look_ scared. They sat in comfortable silence for a couple minutes.

"Remus, what's it like?" Peter asked, quietly and gingerly. Remus' eyes closed and he shrunk into the couch. It was silent again.

"It's painful," he finally said. James's eyebrows knitted together. There wasn't a sound for another twenty seconds, but Remus finally decided he'd had enough of going through this alone and opened the floodgates, "It takes hours to transform, and it's so painful. I can't control a thing. I try to get away in the mornings, just in case, then I run as far away from people as I can.I've got a place that Dumbledore set up for me to transform. It's away from people so there I won't be able to hurt people, but I bite and scratch myself instead."

Sirius sucked in a breath before Remus continued, subconsciously running his fingers along the countless scars that littered his face and body. "I was bitten right before I turned five, by a werewolf that had escaped the ministry and taken revenge on my dad. Sometimes I wished my dad had gotten to my room a minute later, when it would have been over and I would never have become this monster." He couldn't seem to keep going. He looked like he was struggling hard not to let any tears fall. "My parents, they didn't want me to go to Hogwarts. Said it would be too dangerous. But Dumbledore came, and he brought me to Hogwarts. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here. So I've got to make sure I do my best. I need to show him I deserve it." His tone told the other boys that he didn't think he deserved it. "Blimey, Remus, you deserve to be at Hogwarts more than most of us at this school do. You actually try to do your work. You follow the rules for the most part and keep us from getting caught. You're the backbone of every teacher in this school!" James said.

Remus smiled at them, "Yeah thanks, James."

James could tell he didn't mean it.

 _(Hi readers! I have a quick question for you... Do you want Sirius X Remus? Thanks for reading!)_


	3. Chapter 3

After he told the others and saw their not terrified reactions, Remus seemed to be a little happier. Sharing his secret was a thing he had been told since he was five to never ever tell anybody, under any circumstances. But he found himself easily trusting James, Sirius, and Peter with the secret that could and most likely would ruin his life. And they kept it. They didn't treat him any differently. Sure, they brought him a bit more chocolate from the kitchens, but so far they were just the same friends he'd had before. But still, Remus was worried. They hadn't seen him go through a transformation. And he thought they didn't know how dangerous he could be. But they knew. They'd seen him nearly take James' head clean off. But to them, Remus was still their Remus. He still folded his socks and enjoyed afternoon tea with McGonagall and the other teachers on Sundays. To them, Remus wasn't a monster. And James Potter promised himself that he would hex anybody who ever said differently.

Remus, on the other hand, didn't think that would last long. He basked in his happiness while it was there, but there was still another night of the full moon this month. His friends could tell he was nervous and now that they knew why, they were determined to help. They distracted him from what was to come by asking for help in their homework. Remus knew that James' favorite subject was transfiguration and he knew James definitely didn't need help with his paper on the proper wand movement to use when transfiguring a small inanimate object. But Remus needed the distraction, and James was good at keeping his mind off of his worries. He acted so carelessly and free minded that Remus couldn't help but feel a hint of the same.

It was the last class of the day when Remus knew he needed to leave. He weakly raised his hand. Professor McGonagall smiled as she called on him, although he could see she was slightly annoyed he'd interrupted her lecture.

"I'm not feeling well," he said quickly. "May I go to the nurse?" He still asked politely, even though it wasn't really a question. The transfiguration teacher watching him curiously for a moment before nodding and getting back to her lecture. Sirius watched him rush for the door and raised his hand, not waiting to get called on.

"I need to use the toilet!" He jumped from his seat and ran after Remus. James caught Peter's eye and also raised his hand.

"Sirius has my quill!" he excused, getting up and following them. The door closed and the professor looked expectantly at Peter. She wasn't an idiot, and she'd rather have Peter leave before she was interrupted again. Peter sighed and glanced in the direction his friends had gone.

"I forgot my homework." He clumsily stood up and jogged to the door, tripping on his chair. McGonagall watched after the moment, deciding she'd wait until after she heard their next creative excuse to give them attention. This was peculiar, even for those boys. James rarely skipped transfiguration and Remus would never bail on a class unless he knew the others were going to get into trouble without him.

Remus stumbled and nearly ran into a wall before Sirius caught his arm. "Woah there, Moony. Here, lemme help."

Remus would never admit it, but he liked the nickname. It was by far better than Moon-Moon. Every time one of his friends called him Moony, it was a reminder of what they said. He wasn't a monster. But in a way, it helped him accept what he was. Even if he was a werewolf, it didn't mean he deserved to be outcasted.

"You should get to class before Professor McGonagall-uhhhg," he cut himself off by groaning in pain. James caught up to the pair and knelt beside them.

"What's wrong? You look sick," he put a hand on Remus' head but Remus pulled away.

"I have to get to the forest," he explained. The boys understood immediately. They glanced over the shoulder and caught Peter's arm.

"How are we going to get out without getting caught? Filch caught a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw trying to sneak out to go find Leprechauns yesterday, and now he's sitting at the front doors like guard-dog," Sirius pointed out. Remus groaned. James made his I've-got-an-idea face that usually made Remus and Peter nervous.

"Peter, where's the nearest exit? Besides the one Filch is guarding," he said. Peter wandered off to a painting of a bored looking knight. James grabbed his backpack and pulled out a familiar cloak.

"Uhg James, please tell me you didn't bring that thing with you," Remus groaned.

"Shut up, Moony."

Peter motioned for them to follow him. James draped the cloak over the four of them, but it didn't quite fit.

"James, you grab Pete and I'll get Remus," Sirius suggested. Sirius re-positioned Remus so the other boy was nearly underneath him when he was crouched over. James took Peter, who was significantly smaller, on his back. They smushed together and finally fit under the cloak. In the upcoming weeks, James would figure out how to make the cloak magically grow in size. Until then, this would have to do. Peter stuck his head out of the cloak and spoke to one of the paintings. While he was on James' back he was able to talk to the painting face to face, which must have looked funny to anybody walking by. The painting smiled at Peter's floating head, not looking the least bit surprised at the sight. Peter was a shy guy and had made friends with most of the paintings, so he didn't have much trouble finding the nearest exit.

"Sir Cadogan!" Peter greeted. The painting smiled widely, glad to be recognized.

"Hello there, young man! I don't believe I've yet had the pleasure of your acquaintance?"

"I'm Peter, it's very nice to meet you,"

James nudged Peter to go faster. "And I'd love to stay and talk to you about your adventures and your brave battle against Wyvern of Wye, but my friend is in some serious trouble and we need to get outside as soon as possible," Peter urged. Sir Cadogan was beaming.

"Of course, my brave young man!" The painting swung open, revealing a wide passage. "Farewell, comrades. If ever you have the need of a noble heart and steely sinew call upon Sir Cadogan. I'd love to speak to you of my adventures, Sir Peter."

Peter smiled and began to thank him and begin another conversation when the others rushed forward, cutting the conversation short.

"Ok, Moony, how much time have we got?" James asked, crouching to avoid hitting Peter's head against the ceiling.

"Many hours," Remus responded. "I won't fully transform until the sun goes down and the moon comes up."

James stopped the group for a moment and took off the cloak. "Wait, hours? Then why are you like, well, like _this_ , now?" James asked, motioning at Remus' shaking hands.

"I told you, the transformation takes hours. Sometimes my body starts with the little things like bone deconstruction earlier in the day."

Even in the dark, Remus and Sirius could see Peter's face to pale. "Bone deconstruction?" he squeaked.

"Little things?" Sirius added. Remus nodded, clutching his ribs and bringing his knee to his chest, forcing Sirius to put him down.

"Werewolf bones are very different from human bones. They have to change in order for me to transform. But in an or so, you guys are going to have to head back to the castle," Remus warned. Serious shook his head. Peter followed suit.

"We aren't going to leave you out there, Moon-Moon," Sirius tried to joke by using the funny nickname, but Remus didn't seem to find the humor.

"If you don't leave then I will either eat you alive or severely disable you or even worse, I might turn you. I told you guys this secret because I trust you. Now please don't make me beg." Remus' fists were white in strain as he held back his pain. James slowly and hesitantly nodded.

"Ok, Remus. You know this best, we'll do as you say. But until that hour comes, we're staying," James said firmly. Remus nodded, allowing this. He was more than glad to have the company. As soon as the day of the full moon came he was locked away or sent to the shrieking shack. It was nice to have comfortable company.

James stuffed the cloak back into his bag and they continued to make their way down the tunnel. Remus let James and Sirius support him as Peter used the Lumos spell to light the tunnel and guide them.

"Here!" Peter whisper yelled, approaching a locked door. He stepped to the side.

With his free hand, James raised his wand, "Alohomora!" The lock opened allowed Peter to open the door. He stuck his head out before giving the other a thumbs up. The coast was clear. The four boys ran across the lawn between the castle and the forest as quickly as they could with the partially limp Remus between them.

"Where to now?" Sirius asked once they'd made it to the forest's edge.

Remus nodded up the hill. "Whomping willow. But from there it's going to get difficult. I only go by myself when my transformation starts early like this. Usually, Madam Pomfrey is the one that usually gets me there, but I don't think we have time to go get her," Remus answered. Peter glanced back the way they'd come, then at Remus' groaning form.

"If we go back to the castle now we'll get caught" Peter advised.

James nodded, agreeing with Peter. "Somebody will see us, probably Sniveluss with our luck. We'll figure it out, we can get you there," he said. Remus didn't disagree, so they kept going. They'd stop every few minutes to give Remus a break.

"Well, that's one angry looking tree," Sirius muttered when they arrived a reasonable distance from the whomping willow. They'd never really had much experience with the magical tree. They were warned to stay away from it but hadn't yet gotten the opportunity to investigate.

"Now what? Just sit here?" Peter asked.

Remus shook his head. "No. You see that little knob at the base of the tree? I've got to press that, then the tree will become immobilized and I'll be able to sneak down a passage behind it." Remus slowly began to stand.

"Blimey mate, hold up!" James held out his hands to keep Remus from continuing. "How are you aiming to get there?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't know. Usually, I can't get close enough until my transformation is nearly complete. So, you guys should probably just leave now."

They could tell by his tone of voice that Remus didn't want them to leave. They didn't.

"Nah, take a break Moony. We'll get it." Sirius cracked his knuckles rather un-menacingly and ran at the tree head on.

Bad idea.


	4. Chapter 4

James and Peter flinched as Sirius was smacked in the stomach by the tree's branches and sent into a crumpled heap beside them.

"How'd that go, Sirius?" James couldn't help but grin.

"Bugger off, Potter."

Remus was the only one who moved to help Sirius or even remotely looked concerned. Peter and James thought it was funny.

"Your hair is messed up," Peter told Sirius, who began to freak out and smooth the mop of a mess on his head.

"Oh that tree is in for it now!" he yelled as the other laughed.

"If only Peter was shorter, he'd be able to sneak right by!" James said, playfully ruffling Peter's hair.

"That's probably the only time anybody's wished I was shorter," Peter muttered.

James scoffed. "Ah Petey, you're the perfect size. You're not too short, Sirius and I are just too tall."

Remus looked nervously to the tree, causing James to figure that they were probably running low on time.

"But we've still gotta disable that magic tree," he pointed out. Remus nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. How are we going to do that?" Sirius asked.

"Well, we'll do it simple. A distraction," James decided. Sirius and Peter exchanged a look of understanding, then both pointing at James.

"Well, we vote for you. Go get em, lion!" Sirius urged.

Remus rolled his eyes. "That's not how the saying goes, Sirius."

Sirius didn't care. "But he's a Gryffindor. Lion. Get it?"

Even James rolled his eyes at that one. He glanced at the tree and Sirius gave him a small shove. Remus said something about being safe but it could barely be heard over Sirius yelling about how proud he was of his brave little munchkin.

"Hey, over here!" James tempted. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to insult a tree. What makes plants angry? He found it humorous that he even had to ask the question. He got close enough to the tree to be hit, but it looked suspicious. How does a tree look suspicious? James wasn't sure, but he decided that's how he'd describe the tree. Suspicious.

"Come at me, you ugly weed!"

That seemed to work. The branch looked larger than James had thought it was. He ducked to the side and unlike Sirius, wasn't hit. He heard Sirius cheering him on as he got up.

"Jump!"

James wasn't sure who yelled, but he decided he wasn't in a good situation not to listen. So he jumped. Apparently, he hadn't jumped quite high enough because the thick branch caught his foot and sent him flying. He hoped Sirius and Peter took this as a sign that they should hurry. He rolled the side as a branch slammed into the ground and nearly made him into a painful pancake. He jumped back up and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose so they wouldn't fall off.

"Your mother was a dandelion!" James yelled. Personally, he didn't think Dandelions were that bad, but the tree apparently did. A branch came hurtling towards his head so he ducked, but the tree had tricked him. A second branch, coming from the other direction, slammed into his side just before he hit the ground. He rolled out of the way before he could be smashed but his ribs hurt. One of his glasses lenses had been smashed. Through his one good eye, he could see Peter and Sirius sneaking around the back of the tree, taking opposite sides. They were getting close, probably only needed a couple more seconds. James grabbed his rib and stood, but was dragged out of the way. Remus stood where he had been standing and waved his arms like a maniac. He didn't say anything but the tree's attention was drawn to him anyway. He moved before the tree even swung, knowing from experience how the tree worked. He did this for only five or so seconds before the whomping willow suddenly stopped attacking.

"Bloody hell, that wasn't very easy. I think that tree hates you, James." Sirius said, leaning against the immobilized tree's trunk with Peter. James laughed, his ribs burning as he did. That was going to leave a nasty bruise.

"Yeah, let it curse my descendants or something!" he joked.

"Well, now it will! Potter junior is gunna get beat up by a tree on his first day at Hogwarts, all because he father has a thing against dandelions!" Sirius grinned wildly.

"I have nothing against dandelions!"

Sirius rolled his eyes and turned back to Remus, who seemed to be doing worse.

"What do we do now, Moony?"

Remus began half crawling half stumbling to a small unnoticeable hill near the base of the tree. He pressed his hands to the grass and mumbled something under his breath. The earth suddenly gave away, revealing a tunnel. It wasn't a very nicely constructed tunnel through. It looked just like a ragged an unkempt hole. Remus set one hand in the tunnel before pausing and standing up. He turned around.

"You guys have to go back to the castle now. I've got about half an hour before I fully transform and if I don't get in there in time, then I'll get loose like I did last time."

The boys didn't say anything but Remus could tell they were hesitant to leave. He smiled for the first time during a full moon. He opened his arms and somehow managed to get all three boys into one hug. Peter, being the smallest, was in the middle and was sandwiched by the other two boys. "Thank you," Remus whispered.

"By careful, will ya Moony?" Sirius was the last to let him go. Remus nodded and Sirius finally pulled away. They solemnly watched as he crawled through the tunnel. His painful groans could be heard all the way through the tunnel, and the boys heard the sound of a heavy door closing before the tunnel disappeared. The tree shimmied and the sound of leaves swishing against each other should be heard, alerting the boys that it was time to go.

"We should stay, wait until morning," Sirius said. Peter stared worriedly at the place Remus' tunnel had been but didn't respond.

"If we stay then we won't be there when they take roll tonight, then we'll get in even worse trouble. I want to be able to help Remus out for the next couple of days. We won't be able to do that if we're stuck in detention," James pondered.

They were silent for another moment before Peter suggested, "What if we woke up early tomorrow and came back?"

This seemed to satisfy Sirius. He turned and walked back towards the castle without a word. James' slung one arm around Peter and the other around Sirius, who looked to be even more upset that Remus had been. They used the invisibility cloak to sneak back in through the front door and silently back to the Gryffindor common room.

When it came to take roll and make sure all students were in their dorms, they were surprised to see Dumbledore check on their room himself. He glanced around the room, taking note of Remus' empty bed. The boys remembered that Dumbledore knew that Remus was a werewolf but knew their friend probably wouldn't want them to let anybody know that _they_ knew, or that they'd helped him.

"My boys, where is Mr. Lupin?" The headmaster asked. They exchanged a glance.

Peter, being the best liar in the group, said, "I'm not sure sir. He said he was going to talk to you,"

Dumbledore nodded. "Oh yes, I must have forgotten."

The boys didn't say anything. But Dumbledore knew how curious they were and decided to provide them with an excuse, "Mr. Lupin had unfortunately taken ill, but should be in classes soon."

James nodded, trying not to seem eager for the headmaster to leave. As soon as he did, James jumped up in bed. "We've got to do something to help Remus," he said.

Peter looked confused, helplessly shaking his head. "But how? We just got lucky with the Whomping Willow today, we won't be able to help him like this."

But Sirius had been thinking about this since the moment he'd caught Sirius in the hallway the day before. "What if we got him a cat or something? I read a book one time about how pets help calm people down," he said.

James stared, wide-eyed, at him. "You can _read_?"

"Bugger off."

"Wouldn't Remus eat the cat?" Peter pointed out.

"Well, not necessarily. Werewolves are usually only dangerous to people. But Remus is more than of a dog person," James contradicted. There was a silence as the boys racked their minds for a way to help.

"We could get him a puppy," James said.

Sirius oned him up with, "We could become puppies."

Peter scrunched his nose up. "I'm not sure James is _that_ good at transfiguration," he said. James wasn't sure what Sirius or Peter was talking about but smiled confidently like he did.

"Not what I meant. James would probably turn us into mugs or something." Sirius was whacked in the arm by James.

"Rude."

"Shhh, I'm trying to talk," Sirius slammed the pillow into James' face to shut him up. "Anyway, we actually _become_ the puppy. Like Minnie."

Peter's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Do you mean animagus?" he whisper-yelled.

"You realize you can't choose what you'd be as an animagus, right?"

"Yes, Petey, that's _exactly_ what I mean! And you shut up James. I'd be a puppy."

"You'd be a goldfish!"

" _You'd_ be a bowling pin!"

"That's not even possible!"

"How do you know? Are _you_ an animagus?"

"GUYS!" Peter finally yelled. Sirius and James shut up. Peter rarely yelled so when he did, it made a difference. "Do you even realize what Sirius just suggested? That would be impossible. Plus, it's against the law!" he nearly hissed.

James shrugged casually and said, "We could do it. And the law is worth breaking if it's to help a friend, right? Especially Remus; he's one of us. But the big issue here is Sirius!"

"I'D BE A PUPPY, POTTER."

"YOU WOULD NOT!"

"Um, James? Sirius? Could we, uh, get back to the problem?" Peter asked shyly. Sirius and James simultaneously turned their heads toward Peter.

Sirius shrugged. "We already did, right James?"

"Right, Sirius," James confirmed.

Peter wasn't sure how they'd reached a silent consensus without him knowing, then he realized what he'd meant. "Wait, you mean the animagus? You actually want us to do that?" he asked.

James took in what Peter said and began to how serious the suggestion actually was. Becoming animagus was highly illegal and highly dangerous. It would take a lot of research and a lot of time and would result in a lot of skipped classes. James knew it would probably be one of the most dangerous things he could ever do, especially before he'd even graduated Hogwarts. But he also knew that being a werewolf was dangerous. And he wanted to keep his friend safe.

Sirius wasn't very scared of becoming an animagus. He didn't know much about it, just that his favorite Professor was one. But it looked cool, and how hard could it be? Plus, if it helped Remus then it would obviously be worth it.

Peter didn't know much about animagus, but he was scared of it. If Sirius and James became animagus than he would too, obviously. He wasn't going to be the only one who didn't. He desperately wanted to cure Remus' lycanthropy. But that was impossible. Peter still wanted to help Remus, but this was terrifying. Becoming an animagus? He wondered if Sirius and James knew how illegal it was for them to even attempt this. He wondered if they'd care.

"I'll look into it tomorrow," James said. Sirius nodded in approval and rolled over.

"Yes, good idea. Hope you have fun with that. Now, I need my beauty sleep so silence yourselves," he said.

James rolled his eyes. "Beauty sleep can do nothing for you. G'night Peter," he yawned.

"Goodnight James, goodnight Sirius."

"Night Pete," Sirius sounded like he was already asleep.

"You wouldn't be a puppy, Sirius."

 _(Hey peeps! Would you like Sirius x Remus in this story? Thanks!)_


	5. Chapter 5

Contrary to popular belief, James Potter actually got up quite early. Quidditch practice started in the morning a lot of the time and to James, Quidditch was much more important sleep. But today, he skipped practice.

"Sirius. Sirius. Sirius. Sirius. Sirius. Sirius. Sirius. Sirius. Sirius." James poked Sirius' face each time he said his name.

"What are you trying to do?" Peter asked from the bed next to him, yawning and stretching his arms.

"I'm trying to wake Sirius up, obviously," James answered.

"In the most unconventional way possible? Sirius sleeps like a rock, you're not going to wake him up like that."

James stopped poking Sirius, then nodded in agreement. "You're right." He picked up his pillow. "SIRIUS WAKE UP!" James yelled, smashing his pillow into Sirius' face.

"JAMES FLEAMONT POTTER!" Sirius yelled, not even needing to open his eyes to know who had hit him. James ducked out of the way of Sirius' pillow.

"Why so _serious_?" James joked.

"Oh, bugger off." Sirius groggily sat up and yawned. He ran a hand through his hair, somehow fixing it perfectly. James squinted in jealousy and ruffled his own hair. Peter didn't notice.

"Get your pants on, Sirius. We've gotta get to Remus." James ducked for the bathroom, no doubt to fix his hair, while Peter and Sirius got dressed.

"Leave it be, Potter. We're leaving without you," Sirius threatened, pounding his fist against the door.

"Waaaii!" James shouted as he brushed his teeth. He threw the brush carelessly in the sink and ran out to meet the other two boys. Peter looked at him in awe, not an unusual thing, while Sirius laughed and messed up James' hair.

"What, you expecting to see Evans or something?" he joked. James smacked his hand away and messed his hair up again because apparently, Sirius had messed it up wrong. Sirius rolled his eyes.

The trio marched confidently down the hall and Peter noticed that which each step they took, they seemed to go little faster. The sun was barely just peaking over the horizon, confirming that it was only around five in the morning. They went down the path to the whomping willow and sat on the hill, carefully avoiding the tree itself.

"Wait. Why would he come out here? If this is where he exited, then he'd plummeted by an angry tree branch. If we want to get to Remus, then we've got to figure out where the tunnel leads," Sirius said. James groaned in realization and nodded in agreement.

Peter scrunched up his face like a mouse. "The Shrieking Shack," he said. The other two boys looked at him in astonishment.

"How do you know that?"

"It's what makes sense. He strictly avoids the area while we're in Hogsmeade even though he doesn't believe it's haunted, it's where the tunnel is pointed, and the place is boarded up perfectly for a monster to stay without hurting anybody," Peter explained. James grinned and shook Peter's shoulder.

"Remus isn't a monster," Sirius frowned.

James got out his cloak just in case, and they ran for the shack.

By Peter's best guess, it was nearly 5:30 when they finally arrived. It was early morning so most people were still sleeping. It was Monday, not like anybody wanted to be up early anyway. James draped them with the invisibility cloak. They decided it wasn't safe enough to go in quite yet so they waited another ten minutes or so until the sun was fully in the sky. James lead them up the door with Sirius behind him and Peter taking up the rear. They looked around quickly and made sure nobody was around before James used his wand to open the door. The building was a mess. A complete mess. All the furniture had been torn apart, as had the wallpaper and the floorboards. Because the sight in front of them was so surprising, they jumped in fright when the door behind them closed. They didn't spend too much time ogling over the mess because there was the sound of movement in the room above them. Sirius lead the pack up the broken staircase, barely avoiding the holes and broken boards. All the doors inside the house had been torn off their hinges so James assumed the exits were magically closed. They found Remus curled in a tight ball in the corner of the darkest room. He was littered in cuts and bruises and was shaking profusely.

"Remus!" Sirius crouched beside him but wasn't sure if he should touch him.

James joined him. "Moony, you ok there?"

Remus stirred slightly. His arms were wrapped around himself in an almost desperate way. "Go 'way, Potter," he said in his sleep-like state. James waited for a moment, then Remus' eyes snapped open and he sat up, crying out in pain as he did.

"Wait, what are you guys doing here? How'd you get here? This isn't safe!"

"Shh, calm your britches, Moony." Sirius placed a hand on his shoulder. Remus flinched slightly, then leaned towards them, which lead to Sirius' arm to slip from his shoulder and wrap around him in a half hug. Sirius noticed the comforting look in Remus' eyes and held him tighter. James took off his school robe and wrapped it around Remus, who curled into the warm fabric. Peter crouched at his feet and offered a small smile.

"I can't believe you guys are here…" Remus said. James took note that he didn't sound angry.

"Why would we not be? We told you we'd leave you alone while you were the wolf. You're not the wolf anymore," James replied, grinning.

"Technically I'm _always_ a wolf."

"Bugger off, Moony."

They didn't move for a while. They joked and talked about class with James every once in awhile trying to start a conversation about Quidditch.

"Don't you have class today?" Remus asked, repositioning himself and wincing.

"Not until 9," James said.

"There's breakfast before that," Peter added. Remus tried to stand but fell back down, straight to Sirius' open arms.

"Let's get back to the school," Remus grunted.

James raised his eyebrows. "Yes, because you totally look ready to trek all the way back to Hogwarts."

"Well, I've got to get back somehow. The sooner I get there, the sooner Madam Pomphrey can help me patch up."

Sirius and James liked that idea. "Yeah ok, let's go." James stood up, ignoring the bloodied bite marks on the broken table legs. Peter stayed close behind him. They were more careful going back down the stairs this time.

"Here Remus, get on my back," Sirius suggested.

"Sirius I'm not getting on your back."

"Moony you way like two kilograms, just get on my back. It will be easier and it'll get us there faster."

Remus was too tired to argue any further, and the idea was tempting. He relented.

Sirius was right, it was a lot easier. They didn't need to take breaks for Remus, who had fallen asleep about five minutes into the walk.

"James, did you do your transfiguration homework?" Sirius asked.

James shrugged nonchalantly. "Nah, I'll just do it at lunch."

"Me too," Peter quipped.

Remus hadn't stirred, even after they reached the castle. "Should we wake him?" Peter asked. James glanced at Remus' sleeping face.

"No, we'll let him sleep. Sirius, let's take him to the hospital wing."

Sirius turned left and followed James' order. They often got lost but they all knew the way to the hospital wing. Until many years later when a boy named Seamus Finnigan attended Hogwarts, there wouldn't be a single person with as many visits to the hospital wing. Except maybe James' future son.

"Mr. Potter?" Madam Pomfrey barely looked up at his entrance. "Mr. Lupin!" She jumped up, dropping the rag she was using and rushed over.

"We found him passed out on the lawn," Peter said. Madam Pomphrey already had a bed ready, which the boys would have been suspicious if they hadn't known about Remus' lycanthropy.

"Oh, set him down here." She patted the bed urgently. James helped Sirius carefully lift Remus off his shoulders and onto the bed. Remus finally woke. The first words from his mouth, of course, was a polite greeting towards the nurse.

"Hello, Remus. Ok, you boys. It's time to go."

They reluctantly turned to leave but Remus grabbed Sirius' hand. "Can he stay?" Remus' voice was small and weak. Madam Pomfrey had never heard Remus ask for a single thing. He didn't even ask for water because he believed it may inconvenience her. So when he asked if Sirius could stay, she couldn't say no. Remus had the saddest puppy dog eyes, which Sirius would from then on claim was due to him being a "wolf in the night."

"All right. But just this one time," she said sternly. She didn't know it at the time, but it would not be just that one time. From then on Sirius stayed in the medical ward with Remus. Sometimes he'd just sit on the chair next to the bed with his feet on the bed. Other times, Poppy Pomfrey would walk into the room in the mornings to find Sirius fast asleep on the bed next to Remus. When Remus slept, he usually took ahold of Sirius' hand or arm and held it to his chest. Sirius, no matter how uncomfortable it was, never moved away.

Sirius pulled the chair as close to the bed as he could before he sat down. He rubbed soothing circles into Remus's back. Madam Pomfrey came back with a bottle of pumpkin juice. Sirius frowned at the site. He hated pumpkin juice. Remus on the other hand, eagerly took the drink and downed it. James winked at the pair before sauntering from the hospital wing with Peter.

"We're going to be late for History of Magic!" Peter urged.

James shrugged. "Yeah, might as well just skip it. Wanna go to breakfast?"

Peter didn't like skipping classes. He didn't like getting in trouble. But he liked being with the others and he wasn't going to argue with them. So he learned new ways to get them to do what he wanted.

"Lily's in that class, right?"

James' eyebrows shot up and he nearly tripped over his own feet. "You know," he said casually. "I just realized that we have a big paper due on Friday. We should take notes for Remus."

(Hi peaps! Quick question: Do you want a Sirius x Remus ship? Thanks for reading!)


	6. Chapter 6

It didn't fool Peter, but he pretended it did. He didn't mind; he liked Lily. She didn't treat him any differently because he was smaller at the others and wasn't as good at magic. Lily was a muggleborn wizard but she was still so smart and so great. Peter, also a muggleborn, looked up to her almost more than he did James or Sirius. Plus, Lily treated him so well.

"You're late!" Lily hissed as James sat in the seat behind her. Peter pulled up his chair next to James.

"Remus got sick," James said, knowing full well that mentioning Remus was likely to get him out of trouble with Lily.

As he expected, her face warped in concern. "Wait, when did that happen? Is he ok?" she asked.

"He's in the medical ward with Sirius, they wouldn't anybody else in," Peter answered. He usually didn't participate much in conversation, but this was Lily. He liked talking to Lily. Well, everybody liked talking to Lily Evans. According to the Marauders anyway.

"We'll see about that," Lily muttered, mostly to herself. Everybody thought sweet little Lily was the perfect rule follower. Well, James thought those gits had never really met Lily Evans. She had a mischievous sparkle in her eyes that James couldn't help but appreciate. She was going to see Remus whether Madam Pomfrey liked it or not.

"Ah, miss Evans! Would you happen to know when the Great Gargoyle Strike of 1911 took place?" Professor Binns paused his droning lecture to call on the only student in his class that actually paid attention. Lily looked slightly confused.

"Umm, 1911?" She guessed.

James snorted. "Professor Binns!" he called. Lily glared at him.

"Yes, Mr. Pots?" Mr. Binns was glad to have a student willingly speak in his class.

"I can tell you that the Soap Blizzard of 1378 took place in 1378! Also, the International Warlock Convention of 1289 took place in 1289!" James cried enthusiastically. Peter laughed, as did most of the other Gryffindors.

"Great job Mr. Porter! Five points to Gryffindor!" Mr. Binns awarded. And this is why James liked History of Magic. He excelled. Although Mr. Binns was a ghost and the most boring teacher in the school and never got a name right if it wasn't Lily Evans or Remus Lupin, it was like a free period to James.

The rest of the class was boring. Peter wasn't as fun to mess around with, and Sirius was still in the medical wing with Remus. James was bored. He found the solution in the form of red hair and beautiful green eyes.

"Hey Evans, you going to Hogsmeade next week?" he asked over and over again until she answered with a short,

"Yes, Potter."

"Want to come with me? I happen available this week,"

"No, Potter."

This continued for the duration of the class, much to the discomfort of Peter. He didn't mind the flirting when Peter and Remus were around but when it was just him and James, it felt like he was third-wheeling. In all honesty, it usually felt like he was third-wheeling James and whoever he was with. IOt wasn't always a romatic third wheel (he only felt that when Lily was around, and sometimes with Sirius) but sometimes it was in a platonic way. Sirius and James were basically brothers, much closer than Peter and James were. But James would always say he loved them equally. James was fiercely protective of _his_ Peter. So when it was just the two of them, Peter was excited. Peter loved it when James gave his attention strictly to him. That _never_ happened when Lily was in the room. James didn't pay attention to anybody or anything when Lily was in the near vicinity.

"Leave me alone, Potter," Lily sang as she gathered her things at the end of class. James shrugged, walking beside her. "I'm going to see Remus."

James tripped over his feet, which was something he did often but prided himself to avoid doing in front of Lily. "Uh, wait!" he stuttered. Lily turned, her red hair flipping gracefully over her shoulder.

"Did I just hear the great James Potter stutter?" she asked with a hint of a smile.

James didn't smile back. "I need to see Remus," he insisted. Lily stared at him, hands on her hips. "Will you please help me see Remus?" he rephrased. Lily grinned and stood on her tiptoes to pat him on the head.

"Fine. But just because you asked me so nicely. And also because if I do this for you, you won't ask me to Hogsmeade again this week. Come along, Peter." Lily proudly smirked and leadthe boys down the hall. James was frowning the whole way.

They arrived at the hospital wing and Lily confidently told James to sit down and shut up, then politely asked Peter to stay where he was. She approached Madam Pomfrey and began to say something the boys couldn't hear. Pomfrey's mouth could be seen moving as she responded but James couldn't hear her. He inched closer, but Peter motioned towards the glare Lily sent them every few seconds and James retreated. After a minute or so, Lily smiled politely at the nurse and motioned for the boys to follow her. James scrambled up, making a break for the door.

"Lily!" Was the first thing Sirius said. Somehow, in the forty-five minutes that James and Peter had been gone, Remus had fallen asleep. On top of Sirius. Sirius was half on the bed, his other leg dangled over the floor. One arm was under Remus' neck like a pillow and the other one was casually set on his chest.

"How's Remus?" Lily asked. Sirius quickly looked to James, who shook his head.

"He's doing better, still kinda sick. Really tired," Sirius said, motioning to the sleepy boy. "He's going to be asleep for awhile, I think."

"Which would be easier if you would shut up," Remus muttered. Sirius jumped and nearly fell off the bed.

"Moony! Give a guy some warning!"

Remus groaned. "Warning," he said, then shoved Sirius off the bed. Peter giggled as James laughed and pointed at Sirius.

"Hey, Remus. You feeling any better?" Lily asked, ignoring Sirius whining about an alleged broken back.

Remus smiled politely. "Much better, I'm coming back to class tomorrow," he said.

James stopped laughing immediately. "What?!"

"I said-,"

"I know what you said!" he paused for dramatic effect, much like Sirius would do, and continued, "You've just been through a very, traumatic, sickness! You need rest!" James insisted.

"What I _need_ to do is get to class."

"But-,"

"James, I'm tired. Be quiet so I can sleep," Remus said, pulling the blanket over his head. James, surprisingly, shut up.

(Do you guys want Sirius X Remus in this story?)


	7. Chapter 7

It was strangely quiet in the Marauders' dorm room without Remus. James and Sirius weren't joking around, and Peter was silent without their conversations.

"How do you think Moony's doing?" Sirius asked through the silence. James rolled over to face the bed opposite him. Their beds were in a square. James was across from Sirius, and Remus was across from Peter.

"I don't know, he should be ok, right?" Peter answered. They could see Sirius' frown in the light from the moon that shone from the window next to James' bed.

"He had nightmares when we were in the infirmary. Think he's having them now?" Sirius' voice was small and quiet. James knew how nightmares affected Sirius, so he knew that Sirius was worried about Remus. Peter looked concerned too, although he hadn't seen Sirius after a nightmare. Peter knew he had them though, Sirius didn't keep secrets from the others.

"I don't know, it's pretty late. Maybe he's up reading reading a book or something," James said hopefully. Sirius looked doubtful, and James knew he wasn't going to sleep tonight.

"Yeah, maybe."

James watched Sirius rest his hands under his head and stare up at the ceiling. Sirius was deep in thought. James knew they weren't good thoughts.

"Who's up for an adventure?" James yelped, jumping out of bed. Peter sat up and yawned, as he had actually been able to fall asleep.

"What?" Sirius groaned.

"C'mon, we're going to see Moony!" James grabbed his cloak and hauled Sirius to his feet. Sirius grinned and took Peter by the wrist.

"C'mon, Pettigrew!"

Peter grumbled sleepily and dragged his feet as the other two boys found their slippers and snuck down to the common room. The trio huddled under James' invisibility cloak and shuffled through the portrait. The fat lady raised her eyebrows, but gave a small smile. List many other the other paintings at Hogwarts, she liked Peter. She let them through.

"James, stop kicking me!" Sirius hissed.

James elbowed him. "That wasn't me, you git."

"Peter!"

"Sorry!"

An old tabby cat walked angrily through the hallway in front of them and they all went silent. James had his hand over his mouth to keep himself quiet, and Sirius covered the mouth of Peter. The cat began to meow loudly, alerting Filch.

"Curse you, Mrs. Morris." Sirius never liked that cat.

James grabbed his arm and yanked him down the hall, right past the cat. Mrs. Morris stared right at them and despite having the cloak, it made Peter feel a little queasy. Filch limped into the hallway, which was now only lit by his old oil lamp. James didn't understand why he didn't just use magic. Why did he use an old muggle oil lamp? Well, he supposed the lamp itself was probably enchanted to stay lit, but it was still a muggle device. James didn't stop to ponder this, as the cat was a moment away from pawing his cloak. They tried their hardest to be silent but James wasn't very good at being quiet. Sirius was the best at sneaking around. He was tall and almost lanky for his age, so he could sneak through a crowd undetected. Peter was as quiet as a mouse, although his larger size and clumsiness usually called him out. James, on the other hand, was terrible. He was clumsy and his footsteps generally sounded like stomps. He didn;t know how to whisper, so he usually just kept his mouth shut while they were trying to sneak around.

When they got to the medical wing, they found that the door was locked. Sirius took care of that with a quick flick of his wand. James lit up the tip of their wand and they hoped Remus was the only one in the ward. There was a random first year but she was fast asleep so they didn't worry about it. Remus was already awake. He was sitting up with his legs over the side of the bed as if he were about to jump onto the floor.

"James?" he asked the floating head. James grinned and took off the cloak, revealing the other two boys. "What are you guys doing here? It's like one in the morning," Remus whispered. He sounded exhausted.

"Well, um. How are you feeling?" Peter asked.

Remus didn't need to answer, you could tell he felt horrible. "I'm going back to the dorm, I hate it down here," he finally said.

Sirius grinned and took the cloak from James. "Well we've a solution for that." He bowed deeply, throwing the cloak over himself and making Remus laugh. Remus limped over to his friends, who took ahold of his arms and helped him hide under the cloak.

"We've gotta be careful, the Norris and Filch dream team are up," James warned.

"Yeah, but where are they? Peter, can you find a passage or something back to the dorm?" Remus asked. Peter nodded, glad to be of use, and ran to a painting of seven women dining around an old fashioned table. Peter spoke to them for a moment, motioning back to Remus and to the staircase in the process. The women conversed for a moment, then nodded and pointed down the hall. Peter thanked them profusely and ran back to join the others.

"What did they say?"

"The portrait of Queen Marriott at the end of the hall has got a tunnel leading to the skeleton army painting next to the common room," Peter answered. James ruffled his hair, commending him on his good work. They got to the painting, becoming unnerved when they found the queen inside it to be fast asleep.

"Uhg, your majesty?" Peter asked meekly as the others pushed him forward to speak.

The portrait slowly opened her eyes and stared down at Peter, unamused, while the other boys cowered under the cloak.

"Yes?"

Peter tried not to look nervous. "Well you see, Queen Marriott, my friends and I, we need to get to the Gryffindor common room," Peter said. The queen raised one eyebrow.

"You're a Gryffindor?" She asked unbelievingly. Peter scrunched up his nose.

"Yes?" Peter squeaked. The queen stared at him for a long minute before opening the secret passage. Peter vowed to come back later and talk to her, just like he did with all the other paintings in the tunnel was nicer than most of the others. It looked like nobody had been inside for years, but there was a nice cobblestone walkway and the walls were smooth. Magical torches lined the walls, lighting up as the boys entered.

"Sweet!" Sirius grinned and ran his hands along the walls. "I wonder if there are more tunnels in the school like this?" he wondered aloud.

"We should make a map," Peter suggested. James only grinned and nodded in agreement.


	8. Chapter 8

The boys were able to sneak back into their dorm room without problem. Remus collapsed on the nearest bed, which happened to belong to Sirius, and fell asleep. Sirius rolled his eyes and fell took over Remus' bed. Now that they were all there, the boys were able to sleep comfortably.

The next morning, Remus woke them up for breakfast. His robes were a mess and his tie was crooked. His usually neat hair was nearly as wild as James' usually was. James took out the bottle of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion his father had insisted his bring and poured two drops onto Remus' hair.

"Thanks James," Remus muttered, yawning. He looked exhausted.

"Why don't you stay in bed, rest a bit?" Peter suggested. Remus only shook his head, causing Sirius to roll his eyes.

"C'mon," Remus urged. "We're going to be late for breakfast. And I'm sure none of you want to miss that."

Nobody argued.

James, like usual, was the last one ready, even though he looked just like he had when he first rolled out of bed.

"Hurry up, Potter! Remus is going to leave without us!" Sirius yelled, banging on the bathroom door. James emerged with a proud smirk. Peter looked approvingly but Remus just rolled his eyes.

"You look exactly the same. Now, let's go."

They were late for breakfast. Their spot at the front of the Gryffindor table, the table closest to the teachers' table, was open. Nobody ever sat there in fear of some kind of stink bomb or trap the boys may have set. Sirius set a slug bomb under their part of the table at the end of their first year, but James had forgotten about it and accidently set it off the next day at lunch. They stopped booby-trapping their table after that. Lily and her friends happened to sit next to their part of the table. Lily didn't like having James so close.

"Evans! Hey, what about going to-,"

"Potter I swear to Merlin, you better not be asking me to Hogsmeade again. Remember our deal?" Lily rose one eyebrow in a sharp reminder. Remus only look bemused, as he didn't know that Lily got them into the medical wing under the condition that James didn't ask her out for the rest of the week. James did not like this deal.

"I, I wasn't. I was just going to ask if you, if you wanted to study! After class. In the, uh, common room!" James quickly lied. Sirius scoffed and muttered something to Peter under his breath, causing the pair to burst out laughing. Remus ignored them and began to eat his breakfast. Lily's friend were also laughing and James' ears went red, although it was mostly hidden by his wild mop of hair.

James turned away from Lily and began eating his breakfast, slowly because he was embarrassed.

"Your pride still intact?" Sirius whispered to James. James smiled cheekily.

"For the most part," he whispered back. "Damn, Moony? You planning on saving any for later?" he joked. Remus was eating as fast as he could get the food into his mouth.

"Yeah, really _wolfing_ that down, aren't you?" Sirius added. Remus stopped eating and slowly looked at Sirius, as did Peter and James. It was four whole seconds of silence until they burst into laughter, Remus included. It was the first wolf pun, with many to come.

"Hurry up, we're going to be late for Herbology!" Remus said, as soon as he had cleared his plate.

None of the boys particularly enjoyed Herbology. James didn't like any class besides Transfiguration (because he was good at it) and Charms (It was Lily Evans' favorite class) so Herbology was just boring to him. Sirius didn't like class in general so he and James would probably just mess around until Remus told them to shut up and pay attention. Remus didn't particularly enjoy Herbology any more than the other classes, but he liked everything about school wouldn't let himself get anything less than a perfect grade. Peter just followed Remus, but still goofed off with the other boys while Remus' back was turned or he was nose deep in a book. Peter was clumsy and the plants he cared for usually ended up dying, but Professor Sprout still loved him because he was small and shy and reminded her of herself when she was younger.

"Awe boys! You made it!" Professor Sport smiled widely and ushered them into the greenhouse. Remus got his bag out and immediately took out his notes to go over what they had done last class.

"Nerd," Sirius muttered. Remus glared but he didn't say anything. Sirius didn't do anything in class but still passed every time, much to Remus' displeasure. Sirius' parents would be hysterically upset with Sirius if he failed so Remus thought he would try to get good grades, but he didn't need to try. He acted like an idiot, but Sirius never failed a class.

"Today we will be rerooting the mandrakes that have been set loose in the courtyard," she didn't call out the boys, but the rest of the class looked to James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Sirius smirked. He wasn't going to deny the fact they they'd let the mandrakes loose to torment a group of Slytherins that had called Peter a mudblood. They were still young so the mandrakes wouldn't kill anybody, but they'd still do harm. James hated it when wizards were called mudbloods. It was a rude slang and James hated when it was used. He came from a pureblood wizarding family and was pretty wealthy, but he wouldn't have cared if he wasn't. Peter didn't come from a "pure blood" family but that didn't mean anything. He just happened to not be great at magic. Lily's parents were muggles and she was the brightest witch of her age. James didn't think blood status had anything to do with a wizard's power or strength. Peter was more or a follower, so his magic was more based around self-protection spells. He didn't like to stand up for what he believed in, but he would protect it, so James decided that was why Peter was best at offensive spells and not defensive ones. Lily was great at everything, but that was just because Lily was Lily Evans, and she was smart. She stood up for herself and protected her friends and always defended her beliefs. She was just good at everything. And Sirius, well Sirius liked to pull sly unseen pranks. Like the little mandrake problem. His specialty was the small unseen charms and spells such as _Wingardium Leviosa,_ and _Alohomora,_ and _Reparo_. James like to change things, he liked to make a difference. He assumed that's why he exceeded at Transfiguration.

The Mandrakes didn't like James and Peter. They were clumsy and often dropped the plants or held them wrong, so the little screaming baby plants didn't like them. Peter hid behind Remus and just copied everything that he did. Sirius and James took turns sneaking up on each other and smacking their earmuffs so they'd get a screaming Mandrake in their face for just a moment, which wasn't long enough to do any harm but was enough to scare them.

Thankfully, the class ended with only one trip to the medical wing. "Sorry Xenophilius!" Remus said, glaring at Sirius who had accidentally tripped Xeno Lovegood while trying to scare James. Finally, the boys were on their way to their next class. Next up was James' favorite class. Flying. James had come to school with his very own racing broom in their first year, and his crazy antics resulted in them being banned for all future first year students. James had been flying since he was a toddler. His father, Fleamont Potter, was obsessed with Quidditch, and James was a lot like his dad.

He'd joined the Gryffindor team early in his second year, and it was his proudest accomplishment. He was a chaser, and a bloody good one at that. He knew the coach well. Besides Transfiguration, Flying was the only class James ever tried in. He was boastful and loved showing off his skills in front of Lily, who didn't love heights and preferred not to fly.

"Come on guys! This is our last year!" James yelled, dragging his friends onto the field. He was right. Flying was only a class offered for first and second years so this _would_ be their last year in this class. But this class was with the Slytherins. Remus already knew it wouldn't end well.

(Hey guys! Sorry for all the mistakes in this chapter but I've only got a limited time to type. I went camping last week and accidently dropped my phone in the lake (RIP phone) and haven't been able to update. I'm using the school's computer now but I don't have a lot of time this week. I should get my new phone by the end of next week so please don't get mad if I don't update every other day until then. Thanks!)


	9. Chapter 9

Remus was right. It was only ten minutes into the class when Madam Rolanda Hooch turned her back. Bad call. Snape sneered in their direction, and James smirked back and crossed his arms to show off his new broom.

"Having fun showing off your wealth, Potter?"

James smirked, refusing to acknowledge the jab. Sirius stood tall next to James, glaring Severus down.

"Are you sure you can even _see_ my 'wealth' past that sagging mop of greasy locks?" James taunted. Severus hissed and clenched his fists.

"What are you talk? You're nothing but a group of rich filthy privileged brats!"

James puffed out his chest in anger, pushing Sirius back. Remus knew this was going to end badly, so he pulled Peter behind him. James was fuming. He was fine with being called rich, he wasn't going to deny that. Sirius was technically rich but if it came from his parents he automatically despised its very existence. Peter came from a poor family; they could barely afford to buy him second-hand school supplies. Remus was in the middle class so you could argue that he was wealthier than some kids at Hogwarts. But they weren't privileged. Sirius was outcasted by his family, going through mental and physical abuse and he still managed to greet James with a smile. Peter was picked on for every little thing. His parents couldn't afford to send him to Hogwarts so Dumbledore himself had stepped in to help him come. He was small and weaker than the others, his magic wasn't strong and he struggled in every class. And Remus? Remus was the opposite of privileged. He was covered in scars because he locked himself away every month for the protection of others. He tried harder than any other wizard but he still didn't think he deserved to call Hogwarts home. He was kind and tried his best to stay away from James' and Sirius' taunting of Severus, even when Snape deserved it. He busied himself with books and studying but James knew he was hurting. His body always ached and there was very little that could help. Remus' boggart was himself. The wolf. Remus, Sirius, and Peter were many things. But they were not privileged.

" _Densaugeo!"_ James yelled. Severus stumbled backwards. His mouth seemed to be growing, but the others soon realized that it wasn't his mouth, it was his teeth. Snape's teeth were growing out of his head like a cartoon rabbit. People around them began to laugh, which drew the attention of a certain young red-headed witch.

Lily Evans looked beyond angry. " _Episkey!_ " she shouted, pointing her wand at Severus. The growing stopped and his teeth slowly went back to normal. His mouth went red as if it were hot, then quickly went pale and nearly blue as it cooled. Soon enough, he was back to normal. "What were you thinking! You absolute idiot!" Lily discarded her wand and shoved James' chest. Hard. He stumbled back with a smile on his face that only the other three boys would know was fake.

"What? I was just having a little fun. Right, Snivellus?"

Snape clenched his fists and stomped over, shoving his wand in James' face.

"You and your mudblood blood traiting friends over there stay away from me!" he growled. Lily frowned, only catching a few of his words.

"Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. But call my friends _privileged_ one more time and it'll be more than just a capering spell," James threatened. His voice was so low that it send shivers down Severus' spine. But Lily didn't hear him. James shoved Severus off of him and turned his back. Sirius didn't have to ask if he was ok. James squeezed his shoulder and began talking about the upcoming Quidditch match. Sirius knew he'd be fine.

The rest of class was spent sneaking glares to the Slytherins and avoiding Lily's disappointed looks. James laughed and joked like usual but he was tense. He had an angry look in his eye that you wouldn't notice unless you were looking for it.

"Want some chocolate?" Remus offered once class got out. Remus usually had chocolate with him around this time of the month. James did want the chocolate, but he also knew that Remus needed it more.

"Nah, I don't really like chocolate," he dismissed. Remus frowned. He knew James was lying, so he snuck the small wrapped piece of chocolate into James' bag while he was looking away.

"Sirius, Peter, you two want a piece?"

Peter shrugged and accepted the chocolate but Sirius shook his head.

He excused the offer with, "Can't, I'm allergic."

"Since when?!" Remus protested.

"Since birth!"

"Guys, I think we're going to be late to Charms…" Peter said quietly. James nodded and dragged his two fighting friends with him to the classroom. Charms was Lily's favorite class so that's when she was in the best mood. She almost had a conversation with him last class week. Like, an actual conversation. But with what happened with Severus, James doubted she'd be up to talk.

She wasn't. She was close to hexing James the entire class period. The only time she approached the group was when she asked Remus if he was feeling alright.

Speaking of Remus, he fell asleep less than seven minutes into class. He enjoyed Charms, it was a fun class. But he was exhausted. Every time he closed his eyes he was haunted by images of bloody claws and blood-curdling howls. He didn't want to sleep, but exhaustion took him over and he finally slipped into unconsciousness. James didn't notice until Professor Flitwick asked him and question and Remus didn't whisper it in his ear like he usually did. Then, for the next five minutes, James and Sirius fought over who would be taking notes for Remus. The fight finally ended when Peter hushed them and told them he would. Lily sent them confused looks but they never said anything.

"Think I could move that pile of books without Flitwick noticing?" James whispered. Sirius only smirked and glanced up at their teacher while Peter grinned and nodded eagerly. He loved when James showed off his magic. The class got very boring very quickly. Sirius didn't find anything interesting until a copy of _Hogwarts, a History_ slowly levitated off the ground and hovered over their professor's head. Murmurs and whispers slowly ran through the classroom but the teachers didn't notice. Well, until the book began to dance. It bopped back and forth like a cartoon, dropping to the floor and going still each time Professor Flitwick turned around. Giggles and laughter were uncontainable, and even Lily had to struggle to contain her smile. James grinned and winked at Sirius.

"She's totally into me."

Sirius scoffed and shook his head. "No man, she isn't."


End file.
